>Judge won't release man jailed 2 years for refusing to decrypt drives,

suspect to remain jailed pending 5th Amendment appeal to Supreme Court.

>Is I forget a valid defense when court orders demand a smartphone password?

The answer seems to be yes and no. But one suspect on Tuesday gets 180

days jail.

This has probably been discussed before, many times, my current thought is that devices which depend on passwords should pick up an additional hard-to-guess combination, through your local Wifi.  Separate your device from this stream for "too long", and your usual passwords will cease to work.  At that point, you'll have to enter a code:

Fanciful example:  Get a scientific  calculator.  Enter a 10 digit number you'll remember:   Example:  1234567890.  Press a function, say SQRT.  Then press another, say Log(10), then press Sin(x).  (or any other series of unary operations, and of whatever quantity and order.)  The resulting 10-digit code is what  you have to add, in addition to your usual code, to return that device to proper functioning.  Or, the last two 10-digit codes.  These numbers are at least conceivably memorizable, but in practice few would attempt to memorize them.  

If you are put into a position where they demand to get the code, the lawyer says, "The device is regularly fed by wireless means, keeping it unlocked and ready for presentation of  a password.  After days in authorities' hands, the device has "decided" that it is no longer "safe", and has locked itself.  The use of his usual password will not unlock the device.  My client, on a regular basis, does not rely on his memory to return the device to functioning, he needs other means which are not available to him now, and will not be employed while he is in custody."

                 Jim Bell